Friday, August 05, 2016

What is Mignon F. Ballard reading?

Featured at Writers Read: Mignon F. Ballard, author of Miss Dimple and the Slightly Bewildered Angel.

Her entry begins:
I have just finished reading The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. It was a selection of my book club and I have delayed reading it because I knew it was about depression and suicide and I really didn’t want to go there. I was surprised, however, at the humor in it – especially in the beginning. The writing is absolutely beautiful and it’s a quick read. It pulls the reader into the life of the main character, a young woman who is both brilliant and talented with everything to live for, yet she...[read on]
About Miss Dimple and the Slightly Bewildered Angel, from the publisher:
October, 1944. It has been a challenging season for Elderberry's favorite first grade teacher, Miss Dimple Kilpatrick. A beloved former student was recently killed in the war, her brother has become distant, and her friend Odessa, the cook at Pheobe's rooming house, has taken a leave of absence to care for a relative. Still, when Dimple's librarian friend, Virginia, finds a young woman, Dora, on the library porch looking for a place to spend the night, soft-hearted Dimple brings her back to Phoebe's and offers her food and a warm coat. But when Dimple is trying to find her a place to sleep, the young girl disappears.

The next morning, Miss Dimple answers a knock on the door expecting it to be the girl. Instead, she is greeted by greeted by a somewhat disheveled young woman with lustrous hair and a sunrise of a smile who claims she has been assigned to fill in at the house. Augusta Goodnight, a guardian angel who has been summoned from a well-deserved rest after a series of troublesome earthly duties, has taken up at Phoebe's.

When Dora is discovered dead - murdered - the real reason for Augusta's "assignment" becomes clear, at least to Augusta. Reluctantly, Miss Dimple teams up with Augusta to find out who the killer is.
Learn more about the author and her work at Mignon Ballard's website.

My Book, The Movie: Miss Dimple Rallies to the Cause.

The Page 69 Test: Miss Dimple Rallies to the Cause.

The Page 69 Test: Miss Dimple Suspects.

The Page 69 Test: Miss Dimple Picks a Peck of Trouble.

Writers Read: Mignon F. Ballard.

--Marshal Zeringue